Native Support

Virsto installs as a dedicated virtual storage appliance in each
ESXi host, implementing a software-defined storage layer that transparently leverages a log architecture to speed write performance by up to a factor of 10. Each host gets a small (10GB) dedicated vLog device, located in the SAN. Writes are staged, immediately acknowledged back to the guest virtual machines, and then asynchronously de-staged to a shared storage pool called the vSpace that services reads for all nodes in the cluster.

Virsto works equally well for virtual server and virtual desktop environments.

Bulk Virtual Machine Provisioning Wizards

Virsto integrates with
VMware vSphere® to leverage familiar, native workflows—for provisioning so fast that high-performance, space-efficient storage can be spun up as quickly as a virtual machine itself, literally within a few seconds. Virsto Deploy Wizards complement
VMware® Horizon (with View)™ for common operations like compose (image), recompose (image update) and refresh (image rollback), in any environment where virtual machines are being frequently spun up and down from templates. The Deploy Wizards mimic native workflows, making them easy for administrators to use.

Advanced Data Services

The suite of Virsto capabilities fundamentally improves storage utilization and productivity. Storage costs are reduced through thin provisioning that is performed behind the logs in vSpace, enabling Virsto vDisks to handily outperform thick VMDKs. vDisks and their snapshots or clones always function at the limit of the underlying storage hardware, delivering the same high performance as a pass-through disk.

You can also depend on Virsto vDisks for superior backup performance in failover clusters—they’re fully cluster-aware and accommodate the needs of clustered environments.

Virsto fully supports
vSphere vMotion: When a virtual machine is live-migrated from one physical host to another, Virsto seamlessly updates the mapping.

High-Performance Snapshots

High-performance snapshot technology (Virsto vSnaps and vClones) accelerates provisioning and provides a compelling new approach for granular backup and recovery. vSnaps and vClones perform at the same speed as their parent devices because the higher-latency operations all occur behind the vLogs, after write acknowledgements have been sent back to the guest virtual machines. This creates new options to use snapshots and clones for easier administration than possible with array-based or native approaches.

Software-Based Tiering

Virsto supports up to four storage tiers that can be allocated on demand from shared pools of heterogeneous storage. You can create blended software-defined storage configurations with a mixture of very fast and very cost-effective tiers. Virtual machines requiring high read performance can be locked into the fast tiers, which are also an efficient location for parent devices of any clones needing extremely high read performance. A single logical “golden master” can ensure accelerated read performance for literally thousands of clones while saving 90 percent or more on storage capacity.

Virsto will also improve the performance of solid state disk (SSD), which can be used in either vLogs or storage tiers to complement spinning disk configurations.